disclaimer: It's J. K. Rowling's.

A/N: Wow! I am so sorry! It's been a century since I've last posted! I had to go back and reread the last like 3 chapters in order to begin to even brainstorm for this chapter. I'm a complete idiot, I know. Enjoy the chapter and sorry for the extremely long and annoying delay!

James + Lily = The Rivalry

Uh Oh...

Sirius lay awake on his bed late into the night, disturbed that James had kept his entire relationship with Lily a secret. Ever since the first year James had told Sirius everything, assuring him that he HATED Lily. And although he, Sirius, often teased James about secrectly liking Lily, he never thought it would, or for that matter, could actuallyhappen. Disgruntled, yet somehow pleased with his friend's newly discovered feelings, Sirius fell off into an uneasy sleep, only awakening when he found Kate sitting on his stomach, trying to wake him up as silently as possible.

"Sirius," Kate whispered, poking his shoulder.

Sirius groaned and turned over, pushing Kate off the bed and making her land with a loud thud on the floor.

"Ouch! Sirius!" she whispered harshly. She stood up and began shaking him with one hand, while rubbing her backside with the other. Sirius groggily began to come to, and smiled when he saw Kate above him.

"Come back for more, have you?" he asked, smiling seductively. Kate blushed and punched him playfully on the shoulder.

"No," she hissed. "It's just Lily hasn't come back yet," then she nodded her head over to James's bed, "and apparently neither has James."

Sirius sat bolt up right and looked over at his best friend's bed.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"Nearly 3:30 in the morning," Kate whispered, watching Peter tentatively as he turned over and continued to snore. "Let's go downstairs to the common room so we won't wake anyone, especially Mr. Lumpy Grumpy over there," she mouthed, while nodding her head towards Peter.

"Good idea," Sirius agreed.

Silently, Sirius pulled on a sweatshirt and the pair made their way down to the common room and sat down across from each other in two of the puffy red arm chairs, next to the now-dying common room fire. For a moment, they sat in silence, then both began to talk at once.

"I can't believe James and Lily-" Kate and Sirius looked at each other then began to laugh.

"Boyfriend and girlfriend," Kate said.

"And they kept it from even us," Sirius added.

"Can you believe James told the entire school?" Kate giggled.

"And now," Sirius exclaimed, "They're gone at 3:30 in the morning!"

Sirius and Kate continued laughing, but stopped suddenly when they heard a peculiar sound coming from the corner. They both looked at each other, eyebrows raised.

"Who goes there?" Sirius hollered, positioning himself in front of Kate, as if to protect her. They stood together silently, trying to focus their eyes to the darkness. "Who goes there?" Sirius asked again. Out of the shadows, a small rat ran squeaking loudly across the floor and disappeared under a table. Kate sighed loudly.

"Only a mouse," she muttered.

But Sirius stared at the spot where the mouse had been. It looked oddly familiar. "That looked like Peter," he mumbled.

"I didn't know you had a pet mouse," Kate said confused. Sirius didn't respond. Hadn't he just seen Peter Pettigrew fast asleep up in the dormitory seconds ago? Kate looked at Sirius oddly, then shrugged.

"We should probably go look for James and Lily," she said, grabbing his hand. "Only God knows what kind of trouble those two could be in right now!"

And with hands still clasped, they left the common room.

James stared at Lily, unsure of what to say. He wanted to say he was sorry, that he loved her, that he was stupid, and that he didn't mean to hurt her, but he couldn't figure out what to say first. He simply kept his eyes locked on hers, frozen with guilt, fear, and unhappiness. With tears in her eyes, Lily looked down at the animagi supplies in her hands and began to talk with a very hoarse voice.

"Is this it? Is this the whole big secret you've been keeping from me?" Lily asked, shoving the materials back into the old wooden crate.

James stared at her in shock. She said it like the secret had been stpuid, worthless, and that it really didn't matter to her. She didn't seem worried or upset that he had been working to perform a life-threatening transfiguration on himself and his friends.

James stuttered for words. "I'm sorry," he finally managed to say. "Lily. I'm so sorry."

Lily turned her head away. "Lily, you have to believe me. I didn't want to keep it from you."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I don't care about that. You kissed her, James."

James leaned against the wall and threw his head back. "Lily, you have to understand something." He tilted his head back down and looked her in the eye. "The only girl I l-," he paused, "like, is you. I even told the whole hall after you left-"

"You told the whole hall?" she gasped.

James nodded his head, unsure where or not she was angry, happy, or completely upset.

"The entire hall?" she asked again, unable to believe her ears.

"Lily. I didn't mean -"

"You go and kiss another girl and then tell the enitre hall you like me?" She shook her head. "You can't have your potion and drink it, too," she snapped, clenching her fists so they turned a ghostly white. James swore he could see smoke billowing out from her ears. If she had looked upset before, it was no match to how she looked now.

James stared at her, lost for words. "Honestly, Lily -"

"AND," she continued, "I can't believe this is what you've been keeping from me! What'd you think? I'd turn you in if I found out? Bloody hell James! I'm not that much of a goody-goody."

James looked at his feet. "I know," he mumbled.

"Is that all you have to say? 'I know!' Merlin, James!" She stared at him, waiting for a response, but he stared wordlessly back at her, knowing whatever he he could say would only make her angrier.

"Fine," she said, moving the supply box from her lap and glaring at James. "Fine. I'm leaving." Lily stared at him, frustration raging in her vibrant green eyes. She stood up, her dress wrinkled and covered with tear stains, and began walking briskly toward the door.

"Lily! Wait!" James called, standing up and taking a step after her. She turned around and stared at him. The rage was gone from here eyes, but replaced by a look of utter sadness. A tear trickled down her cheek, making James feel as if his heart was about to rip in two.

James didn't know what made him say it. The thought had never even crossed his mind before. He didn't know if he said it because he was feeling guilty or if he was actually expressing the way he felt in his heart. But after seeing Lily so upset and so hurt by something he, James, had done, he couldn't stop himself. The words even sounded strange and distant to him when his lips uncontrollably formed the words, "Lily, I love you."

Lily, apparently, was just as shocked by James's proclamation. She stared at him, flabbergasted, for nearly a minute. She opened her mouth, and closed it, looking like a fish out of water. Then, without warning, she turned around and walked out of the room. James looked at the spot where Lily had been. What was he expecting? Did he really think she would turn around and run into his arms? James shook his head, ashamed and shocked of what he had just said to her. Then his head jolted up. He was determined to not let Lily go.

Without thinking twice, James charged out of the room. He looked both ways, wondering which way she turned. Taking the left hall, James suddenly felt quite cold. He looked down. He had forgotten he was only wearing his boxers. He looked back at the room which was now a good one hundred yards away. If he went back, he knew he would be too far behind to ever catch up to her. Looking for any sign of Lily, James began to run, following the instincts of his heart.

Lily walked, her eyes filled with tears and her forehead wrinkled in confusion. James had betrayed her. He had kissed another girl in front of the entire school. He had enjoyed it. Lily stopped walking. Had he enjoyed it? As she thought back, he had pulled away fairly quickly. She wrinkled her nose at that thought of James and Jenna. Lily began to shake her head.

"Lily, you are so pathetic," she mumbled, wiping her eyes. "How can you be so hung up on a guy?"

She began walking again, her pace very slow, unsure whether she really wanted to keep herself hidden from James. While one part of her was screaming in pain and anger, another part wanted to forgive him and simply cuddle close in his arms. He had said he loved her. No person had said he loved her since her parents died. She began to cry even harder at the thought of her parents.

"Oh brother," she laughed, shaking her head in disbelief at how emotional she was. She stopped walking and sat down in a dark, shadowy corner, trying to pull herself together. She took a few deep breaths. She jumped when she looked up. James was a mere two feet away from her, standing in the middle of the corridor looking like a lost puppy... a lost, nearly naked puppy. As she was in a dark corner, James couldn't see her, but seeing him in his boxers in the middle of a freezing corridor couldn't stop her from muffling a laugh.

"Lily?" James asked, trying to adjust his eyes to the dark shadows.

Suddenly, a dark figure rolled out, knocking him over.

"Argh!" he yelled, unsure what this... this... thing was that had knocked him over. Lifting his head, James looked at the dark red hair spread across his bare stomach, which was connected to the tear-striken face of Lily.

"Nice outfit," she said.

James blushed slightly, pushing himself onto his elbows so he could stare down at Lily. He couldn't hide his happiness seeing Lily again, even if she was still livid with him. But no, she didn't look angry any more. James stared into her eyes, trying to read what she was feeling. He frowned. He had hurt her, and he couldn't forgive himself for that.

"We better get you back to the room," she said.

Lily nodded in agreement. James stood up, then helped Lily to her feet. James followed closely behind Lily, wondering if he could take her hand. He stared back and forth between his hand and hers. Lily glanced over at him and raised her eyebrows. Her deep green eyes sparkled, even in the light of these drafty corridors, making his heart flutter.

SMACK!

James ran into an opened door, causing Lily to fall into a fit of giggles. She had to sit down, she was laughing so hard.

James rubbed his head, dazed by the crash. He looked down at Lily and couldn't help but smile.

"Ehem," came a voice just beside James, causing him to jump. Lily had been laughing so loudly and uncontrollably that neither James nor Lily noticed two people walk through the open door that James had run into.

"Nice outfit," commented Sirius, Kate closely by his side, chuckling quietly.

James smiled at his friend, embarrased by his attire but relieved he wasn't a teacher.

"I see you two have made up," Sirius said approvingly. "Seems they weren't in trouble after all, Kate." Sirius and Kate looked at each other and burst out laughing. James and Lily looked at their friends, then gave each other a puzzled look. James shrugged, unsure of what his friends found so comical.

"Think we should leave them here?" James whispered to Lily, referring to Kate and Sirius who were now using the stone wall to support their hysterical bodies. Lily nodded her head. James helped her up, leaving his face only inches from hers. "Do you mind if I-?" he breathed.

Lily shook her head, her face still so close to his. "Not yet."

James pulled away and nodded. He had some work to do. But Lily was worth it. "Well this time, I will be sure to not run into any open doors."

Lily giggled, making James smile again. It was a start.

A/N: Ok! That's it for now! Sorry it's rather short, but I just thought this was a nice ending point until the next chapter which will be posted in.. ohhh.. about a year. lol, j/k. i'll try to post the next chapter before school starts. well... i hope you enjoyed this chapter! sorry... it's a bit cheesy... mushy love and dramatic fighting scenes are not my specialty. actually... i suck all together at writing, but whatever. it's fun, and reviews are GREAT! lol... review pppllleeeaaassseee :) gracias - kate